Dispensing mechanism



June 15, 1948.

L. c CASE DISPENSING MECHANISM 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Aug. 8, 1944 u v X Ill. I I 1 I l I Afro/5N5 Y.

June 15, 1948. 1.. c. CASE 7 DISPENSING MECHANISM Filed Aug. 8, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

Z C" Ca se,

Arid/FMS.

Patented June 15; 1948 mlie (Jr-Base; Los-;Angeles,2(3aa1if.,;assignor to iflase-rzflomnany, a corporatinn ofeblevada I Application.Augus,t gs, 1944, LSeria'liNo. 548,533

"'Ifh-is inven'tion rela-tes to-dispensing mechanism :for" vending machines and 'has" particisilarreference to :means of this characteradepted" toideil-i-ver-heavy; cylindrical obi ects'-from such vending =maclfines.

Various types of wendingrmachines are "widely -used--commercially;a:nd,-*i-n cases-"where light articles are to be: dispensed, have "been found very 28 Claims. (014312-48) satisfactory. iMachineshaveialso "been intro- I duced for dispensinghe'avy objects; such asiliquid the device;

Fig. 2 is a fractional rear sectional :view oflthe device; and

:TFig. -3 is .a sideelenaticnal -,section-al iv-iew. I

= The deviceof inveniflon ,,tin-:the formwiillusstriated in thecdraw-ings, com-prisesa casing .l, in which-is -;-hung---a shat-t: 2,--and arseri-cs 30E -,sp der hire-members 3 are rigidlyzsecured tc'th-isrshaitr The *thr c less oixthcserzmemhers; whichffpraconyenience hereinafter generally-vzare'ircferredz as the spiders, are shown shaped to support the merchandise :tozzbe xiispensedginrthis :casechottles Annd to. guide thesebottles into delivery-stray "at therbottcm or the casinstrin-the mannerrwhich will now be described in detail.

f The crear end ref ithe :Sha-ft"*2' is :fltted --with ra rigidly affixed. rstair-rs-hapedwcamvfi, "the. three motives-5 of which arershapedto receive'a -roller B-tvhich, "in :turn,-:ismountedrfor @rotation' on the end of :an 'arm il. EEhe weight-oif the stohed bot- "ties urges the cam to 'iiotaite-in the direction of the arrow B, o't Figra ibut' it is hele against such rotation bythe-1 oI'lez""-"6. The armf l isshown pivota-Ily supported st m, and it-is-emade at its outer end with--a= hent iip 1 A second ahm- 9 is shown hung at i I 0, and it is at'lts; outer: end-provided *with a pawl l*l,-- t.he' ti p- -o f- "w hichrides 'under the lip l oi the arm. spring I'2 main- :2 terms this pawl projected into -the position shown, against-a stop I3.

As indicated-in 1,"t'he'bott1e A is held hy the legs of the spiders' -presserl against-the wall l of the casing; ready to drop into the delivery tray 4 the moment the spider 'is' l'l'eased "tor rotation. The bott'le may than be w'ithiflrawn through an aperture l' in the' front-=-wal 1 =o-f 'th'e -"casing", substantiallyas indicated igl 3. 51511011 release *is -effected' by an upwardipiill on the arm 9 to cause the pawl' l to swing thearm l np Ward until'the rollerfifi readhes mid passes athe corner 5 of thecamptheiieby tore1ease the: cam for rotation and to :free' the bottle heldby the "legs of the spiders' for'r idelivery time, the tray J4.

It is not, "however, safe-tapermit :the piece .of merchandiseto drop suddenly;:particularly where glass bottles are to be dispensed;l and= is for' this reason advisable to introduce'meens forcontrbb ling the speed of rotation of :the released cam and spiders. such means'is here'shown toiiiiake the'form of a pneumatic acheck zccmprising a dashpot 15, such as 'commonly us'ed' sin udoor checks, and a plurlger 'Pli; terminating in :a'th-ead 1 1, which rides ona studHB of thearm' fl. "The portion of the cam, 5, which extends fi omithe :corner i thereof, rises one-an easyecuryezvuntil the point f5 i's rea'chei. to iimpar tzfurthernrising movementtoithewol'ler 6;:-but asrsu'ch movement is checked by the plmiger'f'lfi; it'ds .SBBII that the bottle is slowly released so thatrnoiidanger of breakagetherieoffis.present.

' fi'bi't'hisupoint,zaltterlbionsis .directed to t theishaipe ofi'the -spider leg, thespoint' :13 of "which enters between the bottles A aand fi lasfith'e spider slowly turns to I release the ibo'ttle A; and it'zis "important to note' t hat the bottle A at ithessame time aro'lls among the convex edge ofwthezzspider :legeinto the circular groove 53; tithereupon-athe'ibottlerr rolls along the next -following :com'rexedge 23 The rotation continues until thefbottle fA' reaches the position previously occupied by the bottle A. The roller '6 now dropsinto the next following groove "5 and-rotation stops.

I The casing may be" high-enough to maintain stored therein sodarge 'a' numbervof 'hottles :01 cans that the weight thereof would," if =the bottles were 'ffree'to drop suddenly, "he likely to-acause break-age. But ibecause the speed of *rotation is slowed" down, and' due"to the curvature of "the spider legs, it is seen that the 'dispensing movemerit of the merchandise is continuously 'under control so complete that no jarring pr "clashing of the bottles :carl' take-place.

lt is, -irr devices of thecharacterdescribed necessary to arrange the cam and spiders in correct relation to the casing wall I in order for the spiders firmly to grip the bottle A and properly to release this bottle upon rotation of the cam and spiders, and it may for this reason he found advantageous to mount the above described control mechanism for adjustment relative to the casing. To this end, I have shown all of this mechanism mounted on a plate 20, which may be rotated on the shaft 2 until the desired, correct position of the parts is attained. A plurality of screws 2| are seated in slots of the plate 20, to clamp the latter in adjusted position on the casing.

The height and shape of the storage space is immaterial, at least so far as the above'described dispensing mechanism is concerned, and it is merely required to make certain that the bottles are guided into correct position on the spiders.

This may conveniently be done by placing a partition, consisting of a series of rods 23, intermediate the spiders and so shaped that the stored merchandise is properly guided. If necessary, one or more cross bars or rods 24 may be placed between the walls of the casing to maintain these guide rods in position.

Dispensing devices are generally coin oper ated, but as many types of coin controlled operating mechanisms are in commercial use, and as such mechanisms may readily be adapted to operate the present dispensing mechanism, it is thought sufllcient here to show a link 25 rising from the arm 9 and pivotally connected at the top to a bellcrank 26. The latter may, by means of a rod 21, be connected to the usual coin slide C. When a coin is placed in this slide, in the conventional manner, it is merely required to push the slide ahead and thereby to raise the roller 6 out of the groove While I have in the foregoing described a preferred form of the invention, it is not thereby intended to limit the invention to the exact combinations of parts and arrangements of features thereof, but I reserve the right to embody such modifications as will fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Nor does the casing necessarily have to be shaped as shown, but may be widened so as to afford storage space for additional vertical rows of bottles, if desired.

I claim:

1. In a coin controlled dispensing device for cylindrical objects, a casing having such objects stored therein, a shaft extending through the casing, dispensing means on said shaft supporting the weight of the stored objects, a cam disc on the end of the shaft having grooves sunk into its edge and cam surfaces rising from said grooves, lock means engaging one of said grooves, means yieldingly holding said lock means in the groove to maintain the shaft and the said dispensing means unturned, coin controlled means for withdrawing said lock means from its groove to release the cam and dispensing means for rotation by the -weight of the stored objects thereby to cause the lock means to ride on the adjacent-rising cam surface, the pressure of said yielding means against the lock means operating to hold the latter pressed against one of the cam surfaces thereby to retard the speed of rotation of the dispensing means. I

2. In a dispensing device for cylindrical ob jects, a casing for storage of such objects, a shaft extending through said casing, mechanism on said shaft supporting the weight of said stored objects and designed to dispense the objects one by one, a disc on the end of the shaft having equidistantly spaced grooves in the edge thereof, control means comprising an arm hung on the said means and having a wheel on the free end thereof riding in one of said grooves to maintain the disc and dispensing mechanism unturned, means on said control means for moving said arm to raise the wheel out of its groove, the weight of the objects causing the said mechanism and the disc to turn thereby to discharge one of said objects, and means for adjusting said control means relative to said disk.

3. In a dispensing device for cylindrical objects, a casing for storage of such objects, a shaft extending through said casing, mechanism on said shaft supporting the weight of the stored objects and designed to dispense said objects one by one, a disc on the end of the shaft having equidistantly spaced grooves in the edge thereof and cam surfaces rising from said grooves, an arm on the casing, a wheel on the free end of said arm riding in one of said grooves, yielding means holding said wheel in its groove to maintain the disc and dispensing mechanism unturned. and means for moving said arm to raise the wheel out of its groove, the Weight of the stored objects causing the mechanism and the disc to turn thereby to discharge one of said objects, the pressure of said yielding means holding the wheel of said arm against a cam surface of the disc thereby to retard the speed of rotation. 1

4. A dispensing device for cylindrical objects comprising, a vertically disposed casing, a shaft horizontally extending through said casing, a series of trieornute spiders rigidly mounted on the shaft to support objects stored in vertical succession within the casing, said spiders having axially aligned arcuate legs on the convex edges of one row of which the lowermost object is supported, means successively guiding the stored objects to said convex spider legs edges, a tricornute grooved cam on the shaft having a cam surface rising from each groove, a groove engaging device pivotally hung within the casing, means for raising said device out of its groove on to the adjacent rlsing cam surface thereby to release the shaft and spiders for rotation, gravity causing the object on the spiders to roll off said convex edges and the next following spider and the object resting thereon to move into the position previously occupied by said one row of legs and object supported thereon, means resisting further rising movement of said device on the gradually rising cam surfaces to control the speed of rotation of the shaft and spiders, and means for adjusting the position of said device relative to the said cam.

5. In a coin-controlled dispensing device for cylindrical objects, a casing, dispensing means within the casing comprising, a shaft horizontally extending through the casing, a series of tricornute spiders rigidly mounted on said shaft in axial alignment and in position to support one of said objects on the convex edges of one row of the spider legs, means vertically guiding said stored objects to said convex edges one by one, a plate hung in the casing for circular adjustment about said shaft, a cam on the shaft having rising cam lobes corresponding in number to the legs of the spiders and grooves intermediate said lobes, a lever pivotally hung on said plate, a roller on said lever engaging one of said grooves to maintain the shaft unturned, means for raising said lever and roller from its groove on to the adjacent rising cam lobe thereby to release the shaft and spiders, the weight of the objects stored above the spiders causing the shaft and spiders to rotate and the object on the spiders to roll off said convex edges and the next following ob ject to move into the position previously occupied by said dislodged object, means engaging said lever yieldingly to resist rising movement of the roller as it rides over the cam surface of each lobe thereby to retard the speed of shaft and spider rotation, and means for clamping said plate in adjusted position in the casing.

6. A dispensing device for cylindrical objects comprising, a-vertically disposed casing, a shaft horizontally extending through said casing, 21 series of tricornute spiders rigidly secured to said shaft and having arcuate radiating arms shaped to support objects perpendicularly stored within the casing, a tricornute grooved disc on said shaft having cam surfaces rising from the grooves of the disc on the outer periphery thereof, a lever pivotally hung within the casing, a roller on said lever engaging a groove of the disc to maintain the disc and shaft unturned, means for moving said lever and roller out of the groove to release the shaft for rotation, the pressure of the stored objects against the spiders causing the released shaft to rotate thereby to discharge the object resting on the spiders, and means engaging the lever yieldingly to check further outward movement of the roller as it rises along said cam surobject resting on the spiders, and means resisting outward movement of the device as it rises along said cam surface thereby to control the speed of shaft and spider rotation.

8. A dispensing device for cylindrical objects comprising, a casing, a shaft horizontally extending through said casing, a series of spiders rigidly mounted on said shaft to support objects stored within the casing, said spiders having axially aligned arcuate legs on the convex edges of one row of which the lowermost object is supported, means guiding said stored objects to said convex edges one by one, a disc on the shaft having rising cam lobes corresponding in number to the legs of the spiders and grooves intermediate said lobes, a lever pivotally hung within the casing, a roller on said lever engaging a groove of the disc to maintain the disc unturned, means engaging said lever to raise said roller out of its groove on to the adjacent rising cam lobe, thereb to release the shaft and spiders for rotation, the weight of the objects stored above the spiders causing the shaft to rotate and releasing the object on the spiders to roll off the convex edges and the next following object to move into the position previously ocface thereby to control the speed of shaft and 1 spider rotation.

7. A dispensing device for cylindrical objects comprising, avertically disposed casing, a shaft" horizontally extending through said casing, a'

cupied by said dislodged object, and means engaging the lever yieldingly to check further outward movement of the roller as it rises along said cam surface thereby to control the speed of shaft and spider rotation.

LESLIE C. CASE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

